I love to organize. Anything and everything. I have a lot of books and other information on organization I’ve been accumulating for many years, probably since Zach was a baby (he just turned 30). I’ve taught classes on organization to our church women’s group in the past. I get excited when I get to get new bins to organize new stuff. Since clutter of any kind makes me feel a bit crazy and anxious, feeling organized makes life go so much easier, and it makes it so much simpler to find stuff. And it’s easier to just BE.
Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on your perspective), my girls have inherited my organizing bug, which I think is pretty awesome. When our grandson, Tyson, turned 2 a few weeks ago, and we were looking at all of his new toys, Kam and I said—almost in unison, “We need to go bin shopping.” And we were both a little giddy at that thought. And we went bin shopping.
My love of organization goes way beyond stuff and into planning my life. I was a Franklin Covey Planner girl for many years (the Seasons one was my ultimate favorite because it’s so pretty!), and depending on the season of life I’m currently in, my planning system changes. But no matter what planning system I’m using, being and feeling organized is a top priority for me. If my life is feeling cluttered, I get grumpy, and things just don’t go so well. I’ve learned that the hard way.
So…what are some of my top planning tips and tools I’m using right now? Read on to see…some of these are pretty common, and you might’ve heard of them before, but hopefully, something I’m doing can help you too!
1. Keep a calendar of some sort. Whether it’s digital or good ol’ paper, have a place to record all of your appointments. I use iCal for both appointments (actual appointments, calls, travel plans, etc.) and my to-do list, and I would seriously lose my mind without it. (And no, this ⬆️ is not a photo of my calendar. Posting that would be bad. So very bad. This is an example I pulled off the internet, and it’s a pretty good one). Between personal, my freelance business, and work, I have 17 calendars to keep track of, and all I can say is thank heavens for color coding! All I have to do is look at the color of the entry to see what calendar it goes with, which is a real time saver. I also set alerts for appointments and calls so I don’t have to remember that I have an appointment or call. This feature, alone, has saved me many times from being late for or missing something important. And the ability to put a reoccurring event on repeat—even things as simple as my daily workout, which I shouldn’t ever forget since I do it so often—makes me feel like I’ve got at least some control over life. Another bonus of iCal? You can attach files, insert clickable links, and add as many notes as you want for any entry. And since iCal is sharable, it’s a great tool for families and work teams! Another really handy feature of iCal is the ability for it to interact with sites like Southwest where, with the click of a button, your entire flight itinerary is added to your calendar. I’m sure there are other digital calendars that can do all of these things too, but I’m an iCal girl since I’m also an all things Apple girl, and everyone I work with uses Apple too. I’m constantly learning about all the amazing things iCal can do, and it’s exciting to discover more ways to make life even easier!
2. Plan the night before so your brain won’t be thinking of everything you have to do—in detail—while you’re trying to go to sleep. If you think of something while you’re trying to go to sleep, since this is the most you’ve slowed down all day to even be able to think, write it down, make a note in your calendar, add it to a note in your phone, or whatever so your brain won’t be thinking about it over and over and over so you don’t forget about it in the morning. Believe me—I’ve learned this the hard way with a lot of sleepless nights to show for it. This nightly planning only takes a few minutes, and it’s so nice to wake up in the morning and know you’ve already got a plan in place. 🙌🏻
3. Set out your workout clothes the night before, no matter when you work out during the day. If you’re a morning work out person, this gives you a few extra minutes of sleep! #YES! And if you get up before your spouse, you won’t wake him up trying to find your work out clothes. He’ll be super grateful for that! Ditto with your clothes you’ll be wearing the next day.
4. Take some time first thing in the morning to meditate away from all of life’s distractions. It could be reading a favorite book, just sitting and thinking…whatever gives you a positive start to the day. I like to pray and read my scriptures first thing in the morning because it makes my whole day go so much better. And when I do this, I’ve already crossed TWO high priority items off my to-do list! 👊🏻
5. Do one simple and speedy task before doing anything else in the morning. I do this one simple and speedy task right after scriptures and prayers, and it’s amazing what crossing one tiny thing off my to-do list will do for my perspective so early in the day! And even though I know I have a long to-do list waiting for me when I get back from my morning work out, this simple thing makes me feel like I’ve already got a handle on things first thing in the morning.
6. Find a way to keep track of things so you don’t have to remember everything. I do keep a to-do list and all of my appointments in iCal, but I’m a bit old school, so I also like to have a written list. It took me almost 3 years of working for the Powells to come up with my work notebook system, and it has been such a huge blessing! I write up a daily to-do list and record all notes in it so I can find things I need to refer to again and again. This keeps me from having to remember where I put things in what app or which file on my laptop. #gamechanger I also keep sticky notes in the front and back covers (and in the back pages if necessary) of things I refer to often, and I can move these sticky notes from notebook to notebook. I also tab pages that are super important or that I know I’ll need to refer back to. From time to time, I’ll go back through my tabbed pages and remove any tabs that aren’t necessary so I only have the “must keep” tabs. I have definitely gone back to previous notebooks to find something I needed, and it’s been a lifesaver! And I don’t have to stress about not being able to find something I need. Do what works best for you, and then keep doing it.
And for me, a cute notebook is a must! I started out using simple spiral notebooks, but after a while, I thought, “Since I’m using these notebooks every single day, why not get notebooks that I love and that make me happy?” Thus began my quest for cute notebooks, and this one ⬆️ is my current—and most favorite—notebook. Here are four must-haves for my work notebook:
- Again, it must be cute and make me happy when I see it. I am looking at it day after day, all day long, after all.
- Must be 6×8 or something very close. That way it’s not too small, not too large, and it can easily fit into any bag or purse.
- Must be spiral bound so I don’t have to have the whole thing laid out—takes up less space on my desk.
- Must be hard backed so I have a solid surface to write on no matter where I am.
7. Take advantage of organizational tools. Trello has become my new best friend. We’ve been using it for a work project for a while now, but I just recently got Trello fever and have been using it for my business, personal goals, other work projects, and so much more. I know there are still a lot of things I can use Trello for, and it’s fun to figure out new ways for it to help keep me organized and kind of on top of life. And it’s accessible from all of my devices.
Evernote is my other best planning friend. I’ve used Evernote for years, and In fact, I keep ideas for and write all of my blog posts in Evernote. I keep notebooks and notes for so many things, and I love the Web Clipper plug-in I can use to save any website to any note. Every note and notebook is sharable, which is a nice option for collaborations too. And like Trello, the fact that it’s accessible from all of my devices = amazing! Yes, there is some overlap between Trello and Evernote, but planning is an ever-evolving thing, and I’m always learning new ways to get even better at it!
As far as planning goes, for me (as you probably deduced if you’d made it all the way through this post—Yay you!), the less I have to remember, the better. When it’s planned AND kept someplace I can easily find it (#thekey), I don’t have to remember it! I’m able to accomplish the things I need to get done, I won’t let those who are depending on me down, I feel happier, and I feel more peace. Life. Just. Goes. Better.
These are just a few of my favorite planning tips and tools—what are yours? I’d love to hear about them because I’m always looking for new ways to make life simpler, more efficient, AND more organized.
PS: My #septemberjanuary challenge is still going great! I’ve crossed off 26 of 26 days so far. It’s amazing how this little challenge has made such a huge difference in accomplishing my daily writing goal!
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